Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1430, Part 1: File ORA-WRL-1-TH1704
[In accordance with the agreement, record the activities of tourists at the gathering and dispersal points during the time period of "The Rise and Fall of Dreams" involved in ORA-WRL-1-TH1704.]

The tourists failed to make any impact on history.

This round features twelve visitors, with no strict faction-binding arrangements, offering high freedom of exploration and a high level of scene limitation. The visitor list is as follows (sorted by score, including deceased visitors):
Qiu Suying, Lu Ning, Ning Ke, Li Duanyu, Zhao Yuqiao, Jiang Yao, Yuchi Long, Wen Rong, Qu Hongzhu, Han Younian, Chen Yusheng, Gao Jinren.

The tourists who ultimately met the survival criteria were the first five mentioned above.

The actual level of scene exploration is low. It doesn't expand the depth of the world-building, nor does it leave any decisive knowledge about the development of any race. The visitor who scored first trained a group of disciples, but most of these disciples were lost in the subsequent internal strife of a fragmented and divided era.

Even if it does not disturb history, this tourist drop is the fourth drop of this prototype world. According to the prototype world protection agreement, the distribution center has only one more chance to drop tourists into this world, and the archives will monitor it.

It is still recommended that the gathering point use the replica world as the main location for tourist scenario trials. Although there are many prototype worlds, the influence of Tier 5 tourists on history may be quite high, and low-level worlds are very likely to go down an abnormal growth path.

Aside from their historical contributions, only Qiu Suying, Lu Ning, and Zhao Yuqiao made significant contributions to society in their time.

No one chose to stay.

This record is not accessible to non-executive personnel.

=
Lu Ning nestled on the sofa, looking at her task completion record.

The mission to trap the Demon Star Master was ultimately not completed. It is highly likely that her last resort failed to trap Li Ji for a whole day, or less likely that the mission ended at the gathering place when she died.

She couldn't be bothered to ask; it wouldn't change the outcome.

In the end, she still couldn't integrate into that world. When facing Li Ji, the breath she had been holding in finally let out.

If she wanted to, she could still persist, but persistence was no longer very meaningful to her. When she was truly involved in the war, she felt that her personal strength was almost useless. The upper limit she had reached in this world was too low, and it had no effect whatsoever.

Li Duanyu was drinking tea at the bar, holding an old-fashioned book in one hand and a teacup in the other, reading leisurely without any intention of communicating with anyone.

Since returning, Qiu Suying has locked himself in his room, only coming out to eat. He even blurs his face when he does come out. Lu Ning knew that the distribution center could collect points to provide various services, even transforming one's appearance, but it was rare for someone like Qiu Suying to blur his face like this in everyday life.

Zhao Yuqiao was quite happy. He said that he took the opportunity to withdraw after the war started, and he didn't care much about what happened afterward. The experience of this trip was enough to satisfy him.

"When you get back to the distribution center, come to Night Dragon Pavilion. I, Old Zhao, guarantee that your things won't be lacking. Don't worry, I guarantee you'll feel like you got more than your money's worth."

Lu Ning couldn't communicate with Zhao Yuqiao. Their attitudes towards life were too different, and their understanding of the scene was completely different. Zhao Yuqiao showed no concern for anything within the scene; he didn't care about the dead or how much he had gained. Lu Ning, on the other hand, hadn't fully detached herself from the final battlefield state of the scene.

Although only about a day has passed since she woke up here.

Ning Ke is the one who can communicate normally the most.

After leaving the scene, she wasn't much different from when she was there; she still had a serious expression, but her speech was much gentler. It was from her that Lu Ning learned about Wen Rong's situation.

"—She's too deeply involved; I can't save her. The Temple of Judgment is only good at killing; saving people isn't our specialty."

"Don't look at me, only our section chief can do that," Zhao Yuqiao said quickly when he noticed Lu Ning glancing at him.

“There’s nothing we can do unless she’s actually there in person. But Qiu Suying doesn’t seem to believe that all of this is hopeless. He took a portion of Wen Rong’s soul essence, which shouldn’t have been taken away by the distribution center. In other words, the distribution center tacitly approved of this action.”

“A tourist in a strict order,” Li Duanyu suddenly said.

"What did you say?" Ning Ke asked politely.

“There are fewer now. It refers to tourists who have entered some strange state and are temporarily unable to return to the distribution center, but the distribution center has not officially confirmed their death. Specifically, if you have this tourist's contact information in your communicator, it will still be lit up, instead of turning grayish-white like when someone is truly dead.” Li Duanyu explained to the group of younger people, “Back when the country was still under the rule of a tyrant, many people were figuring out ways to survive. This name was also suggested by this group of people, meaning to seek a sliver of order even in the smallest of circumstances. To put it bluntly, it was just a name that sounded better.”

After saying that, he went back to drinking his tea.

Two people flashed through Lu Ning's mind—Karl and Su Chenmeng.

She couldn't verify the latter, but the former... she didn't have Karl's contact information, but Mo Ningyan definitely did. So, did Mo Ningyan actually know Karl's condition, which is why she let go of her grudge against him after just one scene?
Regardless of the circumstances, she wouldn't seek confirmation from Mo Ningyan about this matter.

"What happened after I died?" Lu Ning asked.

"Hmm... According to your subordinates' report, about six hours after you trapped Li Ji, the Demon Subduing Hall was blown open from the inside. However, Li Ji did not immediately return to the battlefield, but disappeared for a period of time. What did you do?"

"Using the power of life and death... oh, it's a magic artifact for forced transactions. I originally planned to exchange my life for this demon king, but it turns out it's not enough."

“Li Ji’s actions were modeled after what we do on the battlefield: attacking high-armor units and carrying out decapitation strikes. You were just unlucky to be chosen. Besides, I fought her later, but I lost and only managed to escape,” Ning Ke said.

"If you can't even beat them, then I guess I overestimated myself." Lu Ning wasn't too concerned about the result; she had already done her best. "So how did you get back? I remember you were the last one."

“There was an item I tried to unlock further. But I failed. The requirements for the next stage are just too high, and this scenario probably can’t meet them.” Ning Ke said somewhat cryptically. “Because of this, I didn’t pursue the Demon King much. It was mostly the Demon Suppressor and the ghost catchers trained by Senior Li who carried out the killing on the front lines. But even without me, if they could do this, I could choose to leave safely.”

"As expected of the prospective temple master of the Temple of Headspinning," Zhao Yuqiao said with a flattering expression.

“Deputy Section Chief Zhao, you’re too kind. Ye Longting is also a large organization, and your position should be equivalent to mine,” Ning Ke replied politely.

"Haha, we're in business, so we greet customers with a smile. Besides, Palace Master Ning will eventually hold a senior position, and he'll be higher than me then. Of course, I want to befriend someone as important as you in advance."

Lu Ning could only watch speechlessly. Ning Ke was clearly also somewhat resistant to Zhao Yuqiao's personality, but politeness made her reluctantly deal with Zhao Yuqiao's attentiveness.

Three days later, everyone returned to the distribution center. Lu Ning had added Ning Ke and Zhao Yuqiao's contact information again. She still didn't dare to ask Li Duanyu. As for Qiu Suying, Lu Ning hadn't seen him much and hadn't had a chance to speak with him. Because of the split of the distribution center, only Lu Ning would actually go to the new one. As soon as they arrived, Qiu Suying quickly disembarked and disappeared in a few moments.

He didn't even go to the hospital. Instead, he took out his communicator and quickly sent a few messages. Then he sat on the teleportation array and quickly moved to another place. He walked to an inconspicuous house, knocked on the door seven times, and went inside.

"Hmm... Boss Qiu, come upstairs." A voice came from the second floor of the house.

Qiu Suying looked at the pitch-black first floor, closed her eyes, and followed the memory in her mind to find the stairs. She went upstairs and arrived at... the equally pitch-black second floor.

“Blind man, I’m too lazy to talk about your problem, but if White Hat comes here and there are still no lights, he’ll definitely beat you up.”

"Yes, yes, let's get down to business first. Boss Qiu, is it true? Wen Rong..."

“She brought back a portion of the soul essence, and I knew she was hiding something. Everyone has secrets, but she’s kept hers quite well hidden.” Qiu Suying pulled a bottle out of her bosom. “Things made in the scene aren’t allowed to be taken out, but the distribution center gave me this to keep it safe.”

"There's not much left."

"How can you see how much is left if you don't turn on the light?"

"Hey, if you can bring back someone's soul essence in a bag, then there's not much left."

As soon as he finished speaking, the lights in the room came on, casting a dim, yellowish glow, not so bright as to cause sudden blindness. A young man wearing a brown mandarin jacket, with long hair combed into several strands, round sunglasses, and a paper folding fan in his hand, leaned back in his chair, looking quite relaxed.

Qiu Suying placed the bottle on the table, pulled up a chair, sat down, and sighed: "Tea."

"I don't drink tea, I drink alcohol."

"Blind man, I'm not in the mood for your verbal sparring right now. Tell me where the boiling water is."

"The door behind you leads to the tea room. I don't have any tea here, but you can have the distribution center send you a package by express delivery." The blind man gestured behind Qiu Suying.

Qiu Suying got up to get some hot water, while the blind man stared at the bottle on the table.

He is certainly not blind, or rather, he was blind in the past. All physical ailments, even congenital ones, will be cured at the distribution center, unless the tourists themselves do not wish to be cured.

Soon, the sound of people coming upstairs could be heard from downstairs. This time, no one asked, since once the lights were turned on, everyone knew where they were.

Four people went upstairs. The first was a heavily made-up woman in a bright red dress, with long fingernails, looking like a ghost in the dim light. The second person was short, wearing a tall white hat, about the same height as him, with a full beard and a gloomy look in his eyes. The third person wore a blue and white striped hospital gown, her head was shaved clean, and she had a very kind smile on her face. The fourth was the most normally dressed, except for a high-tech helmet that covered her entire face, but the blind man knew this girl was very young.

Looking at it this way, I really miss Wen Rong; at least she seemed like a normal person.

"Has the boss been here?" The woman in red glanced at the bottle on the table and the chair that had been pulled out, and asked immediately.

"I've been here... to pour tea," the blind man pointed.

"Oh—boss, pour me a glass too!"

"Me too!" the bald man shouted.

Qiu Suying sighed, walked out of the tea room, and placed a kettle on the table. The girl wearing a helmet quickly took out six cups from the cabinet and arranged them on the table.

“The director and the scholar are in the scene and probably won’t be able to come over for the time being. Let’s talk about what’s going on now. Speaking of which… it’s been almost a year since we last saw each other?” Qiu Suying said.

"Oh, if Wen Rong hadn't died, I wouldn't have come either," the white-hatted man said in a muffled voice. "This godforsaken place of the Blind Man's is never lit. I even tripped and fell here last time I came here."

"Isn't this just installing a light bulb..." the blind man chuckled. "Let's listen to the boss. Since he brought Wen Rong back, I think he must have a way."

Everyone seemed relaxed, and Qiu Suying knew exactly why they were. Even after a long time apart, this group still shared a common understanding—that he had already prepared a solution to the problem Qiu Suying had raised.

However, this was the first time he was going to disappoint them.

"Unfortunately, I have no ideas this time either."

Sure enough, after those words were spoken, everyone's expression turned sour.

"Boss, what did you say?" the girl in the helmet asked, stammering.

“I told you I had no ideas either; this requires research. You should know that the research on soul matter doesn’t cover restoring such a damaged state, and if I could really find a way myself, I wouldn’t need to gather everyone here,” Qiu Suying said. “Besides, I owe Wen Rong this time, and I need to find a way to repay her.”

"I, I'll help," the girl quickly said, raising her hand.

"Yes, I need you all to find your own way to deal with this level of soul quality. I am willing to owe you all a favor—it will be in effect as long as I live."

"There's no need for that." The blind man waved his hand. "Although we don't get together very often, I quite like Wen Rong."

"Because she's the only one using her real name?" the woman in red asked.

"Shut up," the man in the white hat said menacingly, then asked Qiu Suying, "Boss, aren't we going to pursue the murderer?"

"Don't chase."

Qiu Suying did not explain the reason, and the others seemed to accept the result without asking any further questions.